I am not sure everyone is waiting till the last minute but with the mad rush to get a passport and the system being so backed up it made sense to wait till it slowed down since they extended the deadline. My husband and I do have our passports as we travel alot but our adult children and grandchildren who are on our cruise Nov 1 all decided to wait since it was only going to add more expense to their vacation now. My one daughter is a single mother with 3 children. 4 passports can add up. They do not travel out of the country except for a cruise and do not see another cruise in the near future. I am sure they will apply for theirs when they return so they will be ready for the next cruise in a year or so.

My daughter called last night in a panic and said that people at work told her it was all over the news that you have to have a passport NOW. That would mean that 18 of the 20 people in our group would possibly miss the boat not to mention the hundreds of others too! It could be a really quiet ship. No problem getting a chair by the pool now!

SanDee, She needs to check with CCL. I know NCL accepts birth certificates with a photo id until December 31. It is for boarding the ship only. Passengers are informed they can board the ship but can not fly home in case of emergency because they need a passport to fly.

I have warned all my kids "Don't miss the boat" as they may not get on a flight. They all agree to be back on the ship 2 hrs before sailing to be sure. Hubby and I have ours so I hope we are not waving any of them goodbye.

I agree with those who say it's wise to go ahead and get the passport. Although the requirement for our cruise was that you would ONLY need the passport if you had to fly home, we did not want to take even that chance. All five of us are over 50 and have an elderly Mother who stayed home. I was concerned that we might HAVE to fly home and would not be able.

The passport requirement is something that has been needed for a long while and although it was expensive and time consuming, we are so glad now that we have them.

I even gave a friend's son his passport for a graduation gift this last summer (paid the fee). Now if he and his college buddies decide to go on Spring Break on limited funds, he won't have to worry about that added expense or the last minute application.

bwood, What a wonderful idea for a gift! I would have never thought about giving a passport. Most young people graduating want to travel but usually have limited funds. Not having to spend the extra on the passport would help them out. That's what I like about this site, you not only get great trip advice but great gift ideas too!

Hi singermom3, welcome to Cruise-chat. You need to let us know all about your cruise and how you enjoyed it. By saying you're going to be ready for your next cruise, I assume all went well. We'll be looking forward to your review and to see what cruise you decide on next. Once again, welcome aboard!

We ordered ours on September 13th and had them in our hands on September 29th.

I read on another board (posted by someone who works for the passport administration) that they are finally catching up with the backlog. She stated that in November, the temporary help they hired will be let go and she looks for the backlog to pick up after the first of the year.

well i wont be going on that hollween cruise after all, i been feeling bad last month to month and a half , went to doctor yesterday after felling lazy, cant sleep but for only 3 hours, not eating , dark p. my wife said my whites of my eyes looked yellow,i had to go to the denist ,he said my eyes looked yellow too.plus im yellow now all over and i looked pale. the doctor took some blood , he thinks i got hepatist A. i m waititng for results of the blood test, so i prob got to forfiet my trip. its to close to the cruise date, o well 900 bucks gone!unless i can transfer them to someone else that i know might want to go.

CrazyCruiser I am sorry to hear about your illness. You must take care of yourself. Hepetitis is nothing to mess with. I feel bad that you will miss your cruise. I take it you did not buy insurance. I am sure this is the time you wish you had. It is always a waste of money until you need it. Just like medical or life insurance. There should be a website where people can buy cruises from people like yourself who did not buy insurance and now cannot go. A good deal for them and a less of a loss for you. I know Carnival only charges $50.00 for a name and info change. Maybe you could start a new thread...Tickets for sale cannot go...Great Deal! Maybe you could list them on eBay. Opening bid and high bidder wins. They can pay through Paypal. Protects you and them.